style

So this weekend I had my casual and cozy housewarming party. I thought about taking pictures but I really wanted to be present so alas, you’ll just have to imagine how fabulous it was. Hint: not that fab, mostly just fun. Anyway, I needed to make some changes to my master bedroom before I let anyone see it because it looked like this:

Not the absolute worst picture you’ve ever seen but definitely sterile, boring, and outdated. It’s hard to tell in this photo but the walls were a matte purple which again, wasn’t completely awful but wasn’t good either. And the furniture and accessories just blended into the walls and got lost. So I decided to do something crazy and paint the walls slate. In a gloss. I don’t have any “during” pictures because I don’t wear camera appropriate clothes while painting and the Internet really doesn’t need to see THAT much of me. Plus, who knows if I’ll try to do something of merit one day or run for office and then *BAM* this post comes back to haunt me.

But back to the room, we (and I did get husband’s approval) bought the one-coat-can’t-change-your-mind paint from Behr and got to work. And now our room looks like this:

Here’s the same angle as the “before” picture:

And my little afternoon reading nook.

Doesn’t that just feel so much better??? I love going to bed now because it feels so intimate and cozy. By no means are we done, or even half way done with this room because we need to put more art on the walls, change out the ceiling fan, buy a more modern bed and end tables, and of course add about a million more pillows BUT even with that mile long list of changes, I feel like the room is finally at a place where I can stop and breathe and decorate more slowly and intentionally.

Now just because I’m taking my time doesn’t mean I haven’t been looking around. I’ve got to tell you that in my online and in-store wanderings, Nate Berkus’ line is killing it this season. Here’s a few things that I’ve had my eye on:

All of them are from his new line minus the bed (Ethan Allen) and they are fabulous and crazy inexpensive compared to similar finds. As you’ve probably already noticed, I already bought the throw and it’s wonderfully soft and less than $20. The throw or the marble ring holder would be great Christmas gifts because we’re only 8 weeks out. #Yikes!

So what are your thoughts on the new dark color? Fab or drab? And anyone else have a design crush on Nate Berkus?

I’m not sure if I’m lucky or crazy but tonight I just booked my flight for Dublin, Ireland! Now I know most logical people out there are thinking “wait, didn’t she just buy a 50 year old fixer upper LAST MONTH?” Yes, yes I did. But you see, the husband has to go out there for work and I joked that if he didn’t take me with him, he shouldn’t come home (kidding, not kidding). So we’re going, even though it doesn’t make a lot of sense. It puts some of our home projects out a little bit further out but honestly, I’m OK with it. When we were thinking about buying a house, we worried that buying one would end our adventures so while this trip isn’t necessarily convenient, it’s definitely ensuring we don’t end up spending all our extra cash on the house.

But enough about the house, let’s get back to the trip! We’re going to be there at the very beginning of October with the average temperatures being 50-60 degrees with high likelihood of some rain. So this means I’m going to need some new duds since Austin weather is quite a bit different. I’ve looked and looked for cute and comfy shoes that fit the bill and I keep coming back to the same pair, although in different colors. But look at them, can you blame me?

They’re pretty much primed to be travel shoes. A little waterproof spray and the suede should survive most rain, especially if you got them in one of the darker colors. Amazon reviews (who doesn’t live and die by them, honestly?) swear that they’re comfortable all day long despite the wedge heel. I’ve had TOMS flats before and loved how comfy they were so I’m pretty sure these will be as well. One of the best things about these though, is that I think they’ll look great with the skinny jeans I have now and the flare jeans that are SO in this season.

These booties have been out for a season or two so do any of you have them? If so, love or hate them? Also, I would LOVE to hear any recommendations you have for visiting Ireland! I’m so excited to hear anything and everything you recommend!

We’re back talking about the house today and more specifically, the lighting. There are so many awesome vintage touches to this house and we fell in love with so much of it. But not everything in it was exactly our taste. To be honest, some of the fixtures took you back in time to when men and women wore bell bottoms and “groovy!” was an acceptable response to anything. While I love so many things about the 70’s (hello, flares are flattering on every woman), the lighting from that time period is not my fav. But I believe in starting with the positive, so here’s the good:

This beauty is in the entry and we couldn’t love her more! We have 4 other fixtures like this one and we’re thrilled that they came with the house. You can see it’s missing a few crystals, but c’mon, she’s 50 years old. We’ll give her a break since we think she looks fab for her age and just find matching crystals at a local antique place. Easy peasy.

Now on to the the bad ones. Guys, I want to not hate them but I do. Take a look and you’ll understand. If not, come buy them from me- I’ll give you a deal.

Ah, that 70’s brass. We have two of these bad boys in our house; they’re both within 5 feet of each other upstairs, and every time I see them “Stayin’ Alive” starts playing in my head. I like that song, but I really don’t want to have it mentally on repeat every time I leave my bedroom. So I’m thinking about replacing it with something that flows better with the lighting in the house that we actually like. Like this one:

Isn’t she gorgeous? And the crazy thing is that she is less than $130 at Overstock. Not everything from there is a winner in my book but this little number has a 4 star rating. All of those factors together means that it needs to come and live at my house. (More Details on the fixture HERE.)

After showing you the last beauty from Overstock, it kind of makes my heart hurt to show you this last one. Welp, here it is:

Yes, this is in my home and yes, it still works. I imagine that at one point this was white, or antique white, or even just white-ish. Now it is straight up pee-yellow. This urine inspired fixture is in the living room and while I’d love to hang a beautiful crystal chandy in there, I have to face reality. And the reality is that I live smack dab in the middle of Texas where it’s hot most of the year. So instead of hanging something beautiful and breathtaking to replace this monstrosity (perhaps a bit hyperbolic) I need to replace it with something less offensive. Ceiling fans, especially white ones are not vogue and they probably shouldn’t ever be, but a girl needs some air flow during months when we consistently hit triple digits.

So this was the least offensive, least obtrusive-feeling, white fan I could find. It fits the criteria which is it needed to be short, not ridiculously ugly, and not yellow. It turns out that locating this fan was no easy task as most white ceiling fans are terrible. But let’s not dwell on that. Let’s relish in the fact that I found this one that will “get the job done” as my dad used to say. (Fixture HERE).

Now, it’s just down to ordering and installing in between millions of coats of paint. So, what do you think? Are you as horrified by the fan as I am? Do you love the 70’s fixtures (someone please say you want them) or hate them? Do you use ceiling fans or just sweat it out? Have I asked enough questions? On that note, have a great Friday!

So my husband and I are lackadaisically looking for a house. We’ve toured a few homes, some of which I like and some of which he’s liked. Turns out our aesthetic styles are quite a bit different. He craves everything modern while I love more of a Southern traditional feel. We’ve done our best over the years to blend our tastes (with mine winning over most of the time) and over time I’ve found that both of our tastes have changed just a bit. I’m leaning slightly more modern these days while he has definitely come to appreciate Grecian columns.

As I’ve been soaking up Elements of Style’s Book (and checking out her blog), I’ve made the husband pick out his preferences when we get to pages like these:

I love being surprised by his choices and it’s a fun way to talk about our “dream” rooms. In the five short years we’ve been married, it’s remarkable how much our styles have converged, and thankfully, he doesn’t mind spending a few minutes talking about pillows, textiles and light fixtures with me. These chats have definitely helped me gain more of an appreciation for all things sleek and I certainly love his growing interest in design.

I’ll admit that I feel almost a compulsion to take every decorating style quiz out there and usually try to cajole my sweet husband into taking them too. If you’re tired like I am (hello, long week) and need a fun way to spend few minutes, try taking a few of these quizzes below.